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Bessie Smith – Gimme A Pigfoot And A Bottle Of Beer Chords Piano & Ukulele

Updated January 8, 2026

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These are the chords for Gimme A Pigfoot And A Bottle Of Beer by Bessie Smith on Piano, Ukulele, Guitar, and Keyboard

[Intro, spoken]
N.C.
Twenty five cents? Ha! No-no,
I wouldn't pay twenty-five cents
to get into nowhere!
Cuz'  listen here

[Verse 1]
C7
Up in Harlem every Saturday night
         F7
When the highbrows get
         F
together its just too tight
     G7
They all congregate at
   Cm               C7
an all night strut
F                   A#
And what they do is tut-tut-tut

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[Verse 2]
C7
Ol' Hannah Brown, from cross town
F7
Gets full of corn and
starts breaking 'em down
F7
And at the break of day
                        A#7
You can hear ol' Hannah say

[Chorus 1]
        D#
Gimme a pigfoot and
a bottle of beer
C7
Send me again. I don't care
F7                 A#7
I feel just like I wanna clown
D#
Give the piano player a drink
             A#7         D#
because he's bringing me down!
D#
He's gotta rhythm, yeah!
When he stomps his feet
   C7                         A#7
He sends me right off to sleep
D#             G7     C7
Check all your razors and
your guns
C7
We gonna be rasslin'
         F7    A#7     G#7
when the wagon comes
A#7     D#
I wanna pigfoot and
            C7
a bottle of beer
F7            A#7     D#7     C7
Send me cause I don't care
F7            A#7           D#
Blame me cause I don't care

Feel free to use our free Chord Shape Generator to see every chord in this song on guitar, ukulele and piano.

[Chorus 2]
A#7     D#
Gimme a pigfoot and
a bottle of beer
C7
Send me again, I don't care
F7               A#7
I feel just like I wanna clown
D
Give the piano player a drink
             A#7         D#
because he's bringing me down
D#
He's got rhythm, yeah,
when he stomps his feet
   C7                         A#7
He sends me right off to sleep
D#             G7     C7
Check all your razors and
your guns
C7
Do the Shim-Sham Shimmy
         F7     A#7    G#7
'til the rising sun
A#7       D#
Give me a reefer and
          C7
a gang of gin
F7                A#7   D#   C7
Play me cause I'm in my sin
F7                 A#7     D#
Blame me cause I'm full of gin.

How to play Gimme A Pigfoot And A Bottle Of Beer: key, chords and progression

Gimme A Pigfoot And A Bottle Of Beer by Bessie Smith is centred on B♭ major (two flats: B♭, E♭). The song uses 11 chords: C7, F7, F, G7, Cm, A#, A#7, D#, G#7, D#7 and D.

The progression the song keeps returning to is C7 – F7 – A#7 – D# (II7 – V7 – I7 – IV in B♭ major). In solfa, that is reh – soh – doh – fah. Learn these 4 changes first and most of the song falls into place.

Easier on guitar: put a capo on the 1st fret and play the shapes B7, E7, E, F#7, Bm, A, A7, D, G7, D7 (73% of the chords become easy open shapes, against 27% without a capo). It sounds exactly the same.

Chord diagrams

C7 chord on guitar (x32310) — C7C E G B♭

F7 chord on guitar (131211) — F7F A C E♭

A#7 chord on guitar (x13131) — A♯7A♯ D E♯ G♯

G#7 chord on guitar (464544) — G♯7G♯ B♯ D♯ F♯

D#7 chord on guitar (x68686) — D♯7D♯ G A♯ C♯

Gimme A Pigfoot And A Bottle Of Beer chords: questions

What key is Gimme A Pigfoot And A Bottle Of Beer in?

Gimme A Pigfoot And A Bottle Of Beer by Bessie Smith is centred on B♭ major (two flats: B♭, E♭).

What chords are in Gimme A Pigfoot And A Bottle Of Beer?

Gimme A Pigfoot And A Bottle Of Beer uses 11 chords: C7, F7, F, G7, Cm, A#, A#7, D#, G#7, D#7, D.

What is the chord progression of Gimme A Pigfoot And A Bottle Of Beer?

The main progression is C7 – F7 – A#7 – D# (II7 – V7 – I7 – IV).

Is Gimme A Pigfoot And A Bottle Of Beer easy to play on guitar?

Yes, with a capo: put a capo on the 1st fret and play the shapes B7, E7, E, F#7, Bm, A, A7, D, G7, D7 (73% of the chords become easy open shapes, against 27% without a capo).

How to play Gimme A Pigfoot And A Bottle Of Beer: key, chords and progression

Chord diagrams

Gimme A Pigfoot And A Bottle Of Beer chords: questions

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